Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

Every day in Portland, Oregon, feels like Earth Day, according to Travel + Leisure magazine, which just named the city America's greenest.

According to the magazine, which recently ranked the country's 20 greenest metropolitan areas, one-fourth of Portland "is shaded by tree canopy, and the ground itself features 288 parks." The city ranked #1 in public transportation and friendliness toward pedestrians. It also ranked #2 in coffee, which, of course, is of extreme importance. Cleanliness was also a factor in T+L's rankings.

Other cities in the top five were Savannah, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver and Chicago. The other Portland (the one in Maine) ranked #7. (New York City didn't even make the top 20.)

The list itself is a great way to plan an eco-friendly vacation (or perhaps your next place to live). For example, did you know that San Diego is a "locavore's delight," or that Santa Fe has a new LEED-certified convention center, or that Charleston has the country's oldest public gardens?

What's your favorite green city? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by tatttoedme via Flickr, used under Creative Commons license